Kevin Curren

Kevin Melvyn Curren (born 2 March 1958) is a South African former professional tennis player. He played in two Grand Slam singles finals and won four Grand Slam doubles titles, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 5 in July 1985. During his career he won 5 singles and 16 doubles titles.

Personal life

Curren was born in South Africa, and he became a naturalized American citizen in April 1985.

Tennis career

Template:BLP sources Curren played both tennis and cricket at Glenwood High School in Durban. He also quickly rose among the ranks as a junior at Montclair Lawn Tennis Club in Montclair, Durban. At college he played tennis for the University of Texas at Austin in the United States and won the NCAA singles title in 1979. He turned professional later that year, and won his first top-level singles title in 1981 in Johannesburg.

In 1983, Curren reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon, beating defending champion, Jimmy Connors in the fourth round, snapping Connors' streak of 27 consecutive major quarterfinals appearances. It went on to be his only 4th round loss in 35 Grand Slam tournaments appearances. Curren lost to unseeded New Zealander Chris Lewis in a five-set semifinal match which allowed Lewis to become only the seventh unseeded player to reach the Wimbledon final. In 1984, Curren played Mats Wilander in the final of the Australian Open, after making a comeback from two sets down to defeat Ben Testerman in the semifinals. Wilander won the match, played on the grass courts at Kooyong, in four sets.

In 1985, after becoming an American citizen, Curren reached the final at Wimbledon with the help of coaching from Tony Roche. After defeating Larry Stefanki, Mike De Palmer, David Mustard and then future champion Stefan Edberg in the fourth round in straight sets, he eliminated the then-world No. 1, John McEnroe, in the quarterfinals, and world No. 3 Jimmy Connors, in the semifinals. Curren was the first player to beat both American players in the same Grand Slam event. McEnroe commented that he felt overpowered and later that he had difficulty in dealing with Curren's highly individualistic and very fast serving, which, in its low toss, was hard to read and tended to produce low balls that skipped on the grass courts of the time. In the final, he lost in four sets to Boris Becker, in a match best remembered for making the 17-year-old Becker the youngest male Grand Slam champion (a record which was later eclipsed by Michael Chang in 1989 at the French Open). The final was intense, and Becker sent several hostile glares to Curren before and after points. On one of the final change-overs, Becker bumped Curren's shoulder as they passed one another. After his defeat, Curren was noted as saying that he thought the game would see an increase in the number of successful young players and predicted that they would have more intense, but shorter careers. Curren was the last American man to reach the final at Wimbledon until Andre Agassi did so seven years later in 1992.

He followed his second Grand Slam singles finals appearance by being upset in straight sets by Guy Forget 7–6, 6–1, 6–2 on Grandstand court in the first round of the US Open on August 28, 1985. Frustration got the best of the fifth-seeded Curren at the post-match press conference when he commented, "I hate the city, the environment and Flushing Meadows. There is noise, the people in the grandstand are never seated and it takes an hour and a half in traffic to get here. It's sickening that with all the money they get from TV, the USTA doesn't build a better facility. The USTA should be shot. And they should drop an A-bomb on the place."

Though he never won a Grand Slam singles title, Curren did win four Grand Slam doubles titles. In 1981, he won the US Open mixed doubles, and in 1982 he won the Wimbledon mixed doubles and both men's doubles and mixed doubles at the US Open. During his career, Curren won five top-level singles titles and 26 doubles titles. His career-high rankings were world No. 5 in singles and world No. 3 in doubles. His final career singles title came in 1989 at Frankfurt, and his last doubles title was won in 1992 in Seoul. Curren retired from the professional tour in 1993.

Since retiring from the tour, Curren has served as captain of the South Africa Davis Cup team.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1984	Australian Open	Grass	Template:Flagicon Mats Wilander	7–6(7–5), 4–6, 6–7(3–7), 2–6
Loss	1985	Wimbledon	Grass	Template:Flagicon Boris Becker	3–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–7(3–7), 4–6

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1982	US Open	Hard	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Victor Amaya Template:Flagicon Hank Pfister	6–2, 6–7(4–7), 5–7, 6–2, 6–4

Mixed doubles: 3 (3 titles)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1981	US Open	Hard	Template:Flagicon Anne Smith	Template:Flagicon JoAnne Russell Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	6–4, 7–6
Win	1982	Wimbledon	Grass	Template:Flagicon Anne Smith	Template:Flagicon Wendy Turnbull Template:Flagicon John Lloyd	2–6, 6–3, 7–5
Win	1982	US Open	Hard	Template:Flagicon Anne Smith	Template:Flagicon Barbara Potter Template:Flagicon Ferdi Taygan	6–7, 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–5)

ATP career finals

Singles: 13 (5 titles, 8 runner-ups)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Apr 1981	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Template:Flagicon Bernard Mitton	6–4, 6–4
Loss	1–1	Sep 1982	Los Angeles-2 WCT, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Ivan Lendl	6–7(5–7), 5–7, 1–6
Loss	1–2	Oct 1982	Amsterdam WCT, Netherlands	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Wojtek Fibak	5–7, 6–3, 4–6, 3–6
Win	2–2	Nov 1982	Cologne, West Germany	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Shlomo Glickstein	2–6, 6–2, 6–3
Loss	2–3	Mar 1983	Milan, Italy	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Ivan Lendl	7–5, 3–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss	2–4	Dec 1984	Australian Open, Melbourne	Grass	Template:Flagicon Mats Wilander	7–6(7–5), 4–6, 6–7(3–7), 2–6
Win	3–4	Feb 1985	Toronto, Canada	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Anders Järryd	7–6(8–6), 6–3
Loss	3–5	Mar 1985	Houston WCT, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon John McEnroe	5–7, 1–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss	3–6	Jul 1985	Wimbledon, U.K.	Grass	Template:Flagicon Boris Becker	3–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–7(3–7), 4–6
Win	4–6	Apr 1986	Atlanta, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Tim Wilkison	7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–2)
Loss	4–7	Oct 1986	Scottsdale, U.S.	Hard	Template:Flagicon John McEnroe	3–6, 6–3, 2–6
Loss	4–8	Aug 1988	Toronto, Canada	Hard	Template:Flagicon Ivan Lendl	6–7(10–12), 2–6
Win	5–8	Oct 1989	Frankfurt, West Germany	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Petr Korda	6–2, 7–5

Doubles: 53 (26 titles, 27 runner-ups)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1.	1980	Denver, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Wojtek Fibak Template:Flagicon Heinz Günthardt	7–5, 6–2
Loss	1.	1980	Washington D.C., U.S.	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Ferdi Taygan Template:Flagicon Brian Teacher	6–4, 3–6, 6–7
Loss	2.	1980	North Conway, U.S.	Clay	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Jimmy Connors Template:Flagicon Brian Gottfried	6–7, 3–6
Win	2.	1980	Indianapolis, U.S.	Clay	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Wojtek Fibak Template:Flagicon Ivan Lendl	3–6, 7–6, 6–4
Win	3.	1980	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Bob Hewitt Template:Flagicon Frew McMillan	6–7, 6–4, 6–4
Win	4.	1981	Monterrey WCT, Mexico	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Johan Kriek Template:Flagicon Russell Simpson	7–6, 6–3
Loss	3.	1981	Brussels, Belgium	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Sandy Mayer Template:Flagicon Frew McMillan	6–4, 3–6, 3–6
Loss	4.	1981	Queen's Club, U.K.	Grass	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Pat DuPré Template:Flagicon Brian Teacher	6–3, 6–7, 9–11
Loss	5.	1981	Newport, U.S.	Grass	Template:Flagicon Billy Martin	Template:Flagicon Brad Drewett Template:Flagicon Erik van Dillen	2–6, 4–6
Win	5.	1981	Indianapolis, U.S.	Clay	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Raúl Ramírez Template:Flagicon Van Winitsky	6–3, 5–7, 7–5
Win	6.	1981	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Sherwood Stewart Template:Flagicon Ferdi Taygan	6–7, 6–4, 6–0
Loss	6.	1982	Masters Doubles WCT, London	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Heinz Günthardt Template:Flagicon Balázs Taróczy	7–6, 3–6, 5–7, 4–6
Win	7.	1982	Denver, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Phil Dent Template:Flagicon Kim Warwick	6–4, 6–4
Win	8.	1982	Memphis, U.S.	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Peter Fleming Template:Flagicon John McEnroe	7–6, 4–6, 6–2
Loss	7.	1982	Munich WCT, West Germany	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Mark Edmondson Template:Flagicon Tomáš Šmíd	6–4, 5–7, 2–6
Loss	8.	1982	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Fritz Buehning	Template:Flagicon Mark Edmondson Template:Flagicon Sherwood Stewart	5–7, 2–6
Win	9.	1982	Houston, U.S.	Clay	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Mark Edmondson Template:Flagicon Peter McNamara	7–5, 6–4
Win	10.	1982	US Open, New York	Hard	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Victor Amaya Template:Flagicon Hank Pfister	6–2, 6–7, 5–7, 6–2, 6–4
Win	11.	1982	Los Angeles-2 WCT, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Hank Pfister	Template:Flagicon Andy Andrews Template:Flagicon Drew Gitlin	4–6, 6–2, 7–5
Loss	9.	1982	Amsterdam WCT, Netherlands	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Buster Mottram	Template:Flagicon Fritz Buehning Template:Flagicon Tomáš Šmíd	6–4, 3–6, 0–6
Win	12.	1983	Philadelphia, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Peter Fleming Template:Flagicon John McEnroe	6–4, 7–6
Win	13.	1983	Munich WCT, West Germany	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Heinz Günthardt Template:Flagicon Balázs Taróczy	7–5, 2–6, 6–1
Win	14.	1983	Houston WCT, U.S.	Clay	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Mark Dickson Template:Flagicon Tomáš Šmíd	7–6, 6–7, 6–1
Win	15.	1983	Las Vegas, U.S.	Hard	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Tracy Delatte Template:Flagicon Johan Kriek	6–3, 7–5
Loss	10.	1983	Forest Hills WCT, U.S.	Clay	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Tracy Delatte Template:Flagicon Johan Kriek	7–6, 5–7, 3–6
Loss	11.	1983	Queen's Club, U.K.	Grass	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Brian Gottfried Template:Flagicon Paul McNamee	4–6, 3–6
Loss	12.	1984	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon John McEnroe Template:Flagicon Patrick McEnroe	6–7, 2–6
Loss	13.	1984	Brussels, Belgium	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Tim Gullikson Template:Flagicon Tom Gullikson	4–6, 7–6, 6–7
Win	16.	1984	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Wojtek Fibak	Template:Flagicon Fritz Buehning Template:Flagicon Ferdi Taygan	6–4, 6–4
Loss	14.	1984	Milan, Italy	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Pavel Složil Template:Flagicon Tomáš Šmíd	4–6, 3–6
Loss	15.	1985	Memphis, U.S.	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Steve Denton	Template:Flagicon Pavel Složil Template:Flagicon Tomáš Šmíd	6–1, 3–6, 4–6
Loss	16.	1985	Brussels, Belgium	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Wojtek Fibak	Template:Flagicon Stefan Edberg Template:Flagicon Anders Järryd	3–6, 6–7
Win	17.	1986	Queen's Club, U.K.	Grass	Template:Flagicon Guy Forget	Template:Flagicon Darren Cahill Template:Flagicon Mark Kratzmann	6–2, 7–6
Win	18.	1987	Tokyo Outdoor, Japan	Hard	Template:Flagicon Paul Annacone	Template:Flagicon Andrés Gómez Template:Flagicon Anders Järryd	6–4, 7–6
Win	19.	1987	Los Angeles, U.S.	Hard	Template:Flagicon David Pate	Template:Flagicon Brad Gilbert Template:Flagicon Tim Wilkison	6–3, 6–4
Win	20.	1987	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon David Pate	Template:Flagicon Eric Korita Template:Flagicon Brad Pearce	6–4, 6–4
Win	21.	1988	Memphis, U.S.	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon David Pate	Template:Flagicon Peter Lundgren Template:Flagicon Mikael Pernfors	6–2, 6–2
Loss	17.	1988	Philadelphia, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Danie Visser	Template:Flagicon Kelly Evernden Template:Flagicon Johan Kriek	6–7, 3–6
Loss	18.	1988	Vienna, Austria	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Tomáš Šmíd	Template:Flagicon Alex Antonitsch Template:Flagicon Balázs Taróczy	6–4, 3–6, 6–7
Win	22.	1988	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Jim Grabb	Template:Flagicon Paul Annacone Template:Flagicon John Fitzgerald	7–5, 7–5
Win	23.	1988	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon David Pate	Template:Flagicon Gary Muller Template:Flagicon Tim Wilkison	7–6, 6–4
Loss	19.	1989	Indian Wells, U.S.	Hard	Template:Flagicon David Pate	Template:Flagicon Boris Becker Template:Flagicon Jakob Hlasek	6–3, 3–6, 4–6
Loss	20.	1989	Tokyo Outdoor, Japan	Hard	Template:Flagicon David Pate	Template:Flagicon Ken Flach Template:Flagicon Robert Seguso	4–6, 4–6
Win	24.	1989	Tokyo Indoor, Japan	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon David Pate	Template:Flagicon Andrés Gómez Template:Flagicon Slobodan Živojinović	4–6, 6–3, 7–6
Loss	21.	1989	Frankfurt, West Germany	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Eric Jelen	Template:Flagicon Pieter Aldrich Template:Flagicon Danie Visser	6–7, 7–6, 3–6
Loss	22.	1989	Wembley, U.K.	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Jeremy Bates	Template:Flagicon Jakob Hlasek Template:Flagicon John McEnroe	1–6, 6–7
Loss	23.	1990	Toronto Indoor, Canada	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Neil Broad	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith Template:Flagicon David Macpherson	6–2, 4–6, 3–6
Loss	24.	1990	Hong Kong, UK	Hard	Template:Flagicon Joey Rive	Template:Flagicon Pat Cash Template:Flagicon Wally Masur	3–6, 3–6
Win	25.	1990	Queen's Club, U.K.	Grass	Template:Flagicon Jeremy Bates	Template:Flagicon Henri Leconte Template:Flagicon Ivan Lendl	6–2, 7–6
Loss	25.	1990	West Berlin, West Germany	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Pieter Aldrich Template:Flagicon Danie Visser	6–7, 6–7
Loss	26.	1991	Lyon, France	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Jeremy Bates	Template:Flagicon Steve DeVries Template:Flagicon David Macpherson	6–7, 6–3, 3–6
Loss	27.	1992	Memphis, U.S.	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Gary Muller	Template:Flagicon Todd Woodbridge Template:Flagicon Mark Woodforde	5–7, 6–4, 6–7
Win	26.	1992	Seoul, South Korea	Hard	Template:Flagicon Gary Muller	Template:Flagicon Kelly Evernden Template:Flagicon Brad Pearce	7–6, 6–4

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

	South Africa							United States
Tournament	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	SR	W–L
Australian Open	A	A	A	2R	A	A	F	A	NH	3R	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 3	9–3
French Open	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	2R	0 / 1	1–1
Wimbledon	A	A	4R	2R	3R	SF	4R	F	1R	2R	1R	3R	QF	2R	1R	0 / 13	28–13
US Open	2R	2R	A	4R	1R	A	2R	1R	2R	A	2R	A	4R	2R	1R	0 / 11	12–11
Win–loss	1–1	1–1	3–1	5–3	2–2	5–1	10–3	6–2	1–2	3–2	1–2	2–1	7–2	2–2	1–3	0 / 28	50–28

External links

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